Photography by Marty Peters, Illustration by Israel G. Vargas
The university’s physical transformation over the past decade has been about more than traditional bricks and mortar. An emphasis on inviting spaces, as shaped by the campus master plan, has changed how students and others gather, engage and experience Marquette.
Building a more engaging campus
A generation or two ago, campus green spaces tended to be wide open and park-like, perfect for spreading out on a blanket or playing a game of touch football. Campus buildings tended to be quite business-like, with compact lobbies and functional hallways leading to classrooms, labs, offices and residential rooms. “This isn’t unique to Marquette,” says Lora Strigens, vice president for planning and facilities management. “That’s how university buildings were designed in those days.”
As a result, when a faculty-staff work group focused on campus engagement and outreach convened in support of Marquette’s 2015 master plan process, its members found campus wanting for places where students and others could come together to study, relax and find community. They called for more attention — indoor and outdoor — on spaces that “bring people together.”
In the plan and implementation that followed, Marquette’s planners leaned heavily into this strategy. While creating a road map for an impressive string of capital projects, the plan also prioritized a vision not only for academics and research but the student experience as well. Memorable spaces became a focus.
As a result, the design of signature buildings such as the new homes for Marquette Business and the College of Nursing — O’Brien Hall and David A. Straz, Jr., Hall, respectively — are centered around airy atriums and generous circulation spaces where comfortable chairs, couches and tables call out (successfully) for student use. They also invite people to linger outdoors too — on rooftop terraces or café patios and other landscaped spaces that intentionally function as “outdoor rooms.”
“At a variety of scales, we’ve worked to inject community-building into every project we’ve done,” Strigens says. “It’s a priority with new buildings, and anytime we do a renovation, we work to capture more student space. We do that on the exterior too — we find more space where people can build community.”
Let’s meet up — in Westowne Square
A decade ago, a stroll through the large green west of the Alumni Memorial Union wasn’t particularly memorable: plenty of lawn, scattered picnic tables and some shrubs in the overlooked space behind McCormick Hall. Now, the square is home to not one but two of Marquette’s most magnetic outdoor gathering spaces.
On balmy days, students flock there and plunk down around the tables, fire pits, and lime-green and navy Adirondack-style chairs of the landscaped patio outside O’Brien Hall’s Brew Café. Across the way sits a newer terrace outside the AMU’s Chapel of the Holy Family, where more students fan out on the tiered steps, often studying or sunbathing. The serendipity of two nearby projects — the construction of the business building and renovation of the chapel — and the vision to treat their adjacent spaces as inviting outdoor rooms create a contagious see-and-be-seen energy. “It’s all as successful as we’d hoped it’d be,” says Kathleen Kugi-Tom, senior project manager.
Gratitude garden — A space worthy of St. Joan of Arc Chapel
In elevating Marquette’s approach to placemaking, the campus master plan gave special attention to Marquette’s legacy of Sacred Spaces. Through the vision of late President Michael R. Lovell, a new place of prayer and reflection, the Marian Grotto, was added to this hallowed group. And the cherished St. Joan of Arc Chapel was not only completely refurbished but it was complemented with a redesigned forecourt and Gratitude Garden that improved accessibility for those with disabilities while offering a glorious natural setting (exploding with tulips in the spring) for services such as Mass in the Grass.
Grateful himself, Rev. John Thiede, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, has hailed the opportunity to worship while “appreciating the beauty of God’s creation — and being surrounded by loving Marquette friends and family.”
Setting a new standard — The Commons’ spaces
The Commons dining hall and communal spaces are an admissions tour stop for good reason. In contrast to the residence hall the Commons replaced, McCormick Hall, the lobby here is a spacious lounge with a fireplace and comfortable furniture. The expansive dining hall is flooded with natural light and soars like a cathedral, while still offering cozy nooks for huddling over a meal with close friends. “Marquette hadn’t done anything like The Commons before,” Strigens says. “It set the tone for student space and how we wanted to build community through the things we did in design. It’s been a common thread on every project we’ve worked on.”
Wellness terrace — A tier above
Perched high above the ground, the new terrace at the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility has views for days — and a stunning space to match them. The spacious terrace outside the LOVELLSTRONG Center for Student Well-Being is an unexpected gem — a place to take in the fresh air, soak up sunshine, de-stress, and maybe squeeze in an elevated session of yoga, tai chi or group prayer. “We designed this for community, and holistic wellness,” says Luis de Zengotita, chief wellness officer. On tours, the terrace is an eye-opener, he says. “It amazes people when they see it.”
Wisconsin Avenue — Engaging city energy
Marquette’s master plan actively balanced spaces of respite and calm with those that engage urban energy, like Wisconsin Avenue. Here, stately rows of trees in the median and precisely aligned historic buildings create a sense of grandeur. Narrowing the street at crosswalks tames city traffic, while new additions to the street support a more engaging pedestrian experience.
They include the bustling sidewalk entrance to the Lemonis Center for Student Success and a huge new window of the Chapel of the Holy Family that glows like a lantern for evening passersby. “I think we strike that balance pretty well,” Strigens says. “We are intentionally coexisting with our urban environment.”
The decade ahead
Marquette’s 2015 campus master plan guided a dramatic renewal of the university’s physical facilities and spaces, so leaders are turning attention to campus planning’s next 10 years, including determining future investments in a district featuring physical, life and health sciences; a comprehensive strategy for our campus housing; and other institutional priorities.
